Recently, the Southwest Technical Advisory Committee (SWTAC) and the Southwest Policy Advisory Committee (SWPAC) recommended the LRT 3A alternative as the locally preferred alignment option for the Southwest LRT line. This alignment follows the Kenilworth Corridor in Minneapolis, continues through St. Louis Park and Hopkins, and services the commercial centers of Minnetonka and Eden Prairie.

TwinWest supports the recommendation of the SWTAC and the SWPAC.  The LRT 3A option aligns with federal cost-effectiveness guidelines and maintains a lower capital and operating costs than other alignment options. It improves mobility by generating 28,000 – 30,000 trips daily and promotes multiple economic development projects in the region.  Given its consistency with local transportation planning documents, the LRT 3A alignment is the clear choice for this region and in a strong position to compete for federal funding.

We encourage the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority to follow the recommendation of its policy and technical advisory committees and approve LRT 3A as the locally preferred alignment option.  We also look forward to working with the project team on potential business impacts as the final location of the line is determined in the preliminary engineering phase.

Southwest Transitway Alliance

Four local chambers of commerce representing southwest metro area businesse formed a business collaboration called the Southwest Transitway Alliance to promote the development of a Southwest LRT line. The TwinWest Chamber of Commerce, the Eden Prairie Chamber, the Minneapolis Regional Chamber, and the Edina Chamber have joined together to provide a unified business voice for the project.

One of the Alliance’s first tasks will be to use our business clout to gain approval of a legislative funding request to pay for a portion of the next study phase, the preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The Alliance also will work to educate the business community and public about this important project and to build broader coalition support over time.

View the Southwest transitway website.